I have been asked to 'get rid of the worms' on my "traditional european golf greens", so i did some extensive searching and found some interesting information

the stuff about worms is about half way through the document
http://turf.lib.msu.edu/1920s/1928/280361B.pdf

its bit out of date, by 80 years ...but i figured the way to find an organic solution was to go back in time and see what solutions were used back then.
So after reseaching numerous sites,. modern and historic i discovered that the most mentioned solution on the historic sites was frequent applications of ammonium nitrate.

Or on the more up to date sites ...simply following basic proper lawn care practices....mowing, fertilization ,and irrigation...

or , healthy turf!! Simple.

THere was a myriad of chemicals listed on one site, but the most interesting information was from the attached pdf file

There were two solutions....corrosive sublimate(YIKES!!) or mowrah meal.
THeres that word again, eh....'meal'
apprently mowrah meal is a good fertilizer too.

Well it seems this meal is made from the butter tree of India.

And applied at 15lbs/1000 sqft it will control worms.

Anybody have a source for mowrah meal?:confused:
it would be an interesting experiment if nothing else

Any comments?

Dave

Ric

05-17-2004, 09:30 AM

Dave

Save your self a lot of pain and Buy Liquid Sevin and Respond wetting agent. 8 oz of Sevin per thousand should do the trick. Try using 5 gallons of water or more per thousand also. Respond is an excellent wetting agent at 16 oz per 100 gallons of tank mix.

Now if you insist on hugging the trees. Try Soap and lots of it. However you will pollute more with the soap than with pesticides, but that is nothing new. Soap can be a good pre treatment for grubs also since it will bring them to or near the surface where pesticides can get them before the pesticide dissolve and become non-effective.

BTW Thanks for the private laugh and the inside joke posted above. :D

woodycrest

05-17-2004, 09:46 AM

actually i dont think i have ever hugged a tree...maybe it would be stimulating... LOL

Thanks , Ric.....there is about 10,000 sq ft total of greens. I will not be applying it myself, but with your info i can approach a local company to apply it...i would rather approach them with background rather than saying..''duh. can you help me kill worms'' :)

i found that out of date information interesting...im going to see what kind of a response i get at the local feed store when i ask for mowrah meal. it should be interesting. ;)

hey ric , judging by the way those greens are looking so far, and a revised fertilizing plan, i think they will lose their 'traditional european' status.... :)

Now infiltration and soil type will play a part in control. Are these Push Up greens Or USGA Greens??

SeedSquirter

05-17-2004, 11:05 AM

Try this - I hear that it works REALLY well. An added benefit is that it doesn't require the use of pesticides.

Hamons

05-17-2004, 01:47 PM

There you go woodycrest. Everything is being outsourced to India -- now you are outsourcing our organics too?

Rtom45

05-18-2004, 09:25 AM

SeedSquirter:
Are those the traditional Mustad, or are they Tiemco or Diachii?

woodycrest

05-18-2004, 10:28 AM

Now infiltration and soil type will play a part in control. Are these Push Up greens Or USGA Greens??

Definately not usga greens....remember they are traditional european...:)....any way....i guess they would be push up greens.

the soil types vary from green to green, from sandy to rich dark soil....some have clay type soil too....A varied selection. thats what makes it so challenging get them all 'up to par' each green requires a different 'program'.
Believe me, these greens were more or less dirt and weeds when i started looking after them, so they have come a long way.

THe worms have done their part. I think stratification was the problem at first, mismatched soil types in the various layers of soil applied over the years. the worms have 'aerated' thru the layers and improved drainage.

the other interesting point is that as the soil improves the worm numbers decrease. Some greens that were covered in castings early last year now have NONE....and those greens are the best ones. the worms have done their job and they move on, or move deeper into the soil.

i like the fishing hooks...i live on a popular lake for fishing....maybe i should start selling live bait.

too bad the greens got 'sevined' yesterday...

worms are very beneficial, unless youre a golfer :)

Ric,
you hit the nail on the head...the greens are exactly like traditional european ones :) Good call!

Don't know - got the picture off the internet. As I recall it was a site from Japan.

My fishing knowledge is near zero. For all I know those could have been worm suppositories.
:eek:

Ric

05-18-2004, 10:54 AM

Woodycrest

After reading your last post and the fish hooks, I remember something that might keep the Tree Huggers Happy.:D

When I was a kid, we got worms on wet nights with a electric charge send thought the ground. We use a hand crank Radio generator from WW II. Now after a couple of times we had to move to a different yard to find worms. (BTW with the generator you don't need worm to get fish).

Now I do have to ask. Why do you want to get rid of the worms?? we actually would be happy to have them in our sandy soil. I can only guess that it has something to do with putting.

woodycrest

05-18-2004, 11:21 AM

Yup, it all about the putting.
i wish i could putt. :( The rest of my game is not bad, but im hopeless at putting , worm castings or no worm castings.

Dont forget my other golf course...it remains and will remain 100% tree hugger :) THe worms are plentiful out there!!

Ric

05-18-2004, 11:45 AM

Woodycrest

Last time I played I shot in the high 60's So putting can be important.

However after I shot that score the rest of my four some moved on to the second hole with out me. :D

woodycrest

05-19-2004, 08:59 AM

So i guess you would take longer than four hours to play 18, eh?

Ric

05-19-2004, 01:19 PM

Originally posted by woodycrest
So i guess you would take longer than four hours to play 18, eh?

woodycrest

If I started Very Early, packed a lunch and brought a lantern. May be just may be I could do 9 holes :D